Improvement in hoop-skirts



M.` BERLINER. `Hoop-Skirts.

Patenmted Oct. 1, '1872.

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nl. fl/ara-urf/oa/uP//a can roman/fis Mauss! MROUS BERLINER, OF NEWYORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN HOOP-SKIRTS.

i Speciication forming part of Letters Patent No. 131,840, dated October1, 1872.

To all whom Vif may concern:

Be it known that I, MARCUS BERLINER, of the city, county, vand State ofNew York, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Hoop-Skirts; andI 4do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andl exactdescription thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to makeandl use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawingforming part of this specication, in which drawing- Figure l representsa side view of this invention; Fig. 2 is a front view'of the same; Fig.3 is a partial side view of the same on a larger scale than` theprevious figures; and Fig. el is a horizontal section of the same.

Similar letters indicate correspondingparts. This invention consists inthe arrangement of diagonal crosssprings extending' across the openingof `an open front skirt, said springs being fastened at their lower endsto the bottom hoop of the skirt, while their upper ends are providedwith hooks, clasps, or other suitable fastenings, to be attached to oneof the upper hoops of the skirt in such a manner that when the skirt isworn the pressure of the dress on the cross-springs throws the skirtback in the rear, thereby preserving its desired effect, while, at thesame time, the

front ofthe skirt is left open sufciently so as not to interfere withthe free motion of the feet and legs in walking.

In the drawing, the letter A designates an open-front skirt, composed ofa .series of sectional horizontal hoops, a, a at, which are suspendedfrom the waistband b by vertical tapes c c et. The ends of the bottomhoops are secured to the` vertical tapes .c and from their ends extendin an oblique or diag onaldirection the cross-springs d el, to which)are secured the ends of the hoops a', and also the ends Lof the tapesciwhich form the edges of the opening in front of the skirt and to4which are secured the ends of theupper hoops a. -By these meansthelower portion of the opening in front of the skirt is thrown wideopen, (see Fig. 2,) so that the skirt does not interfere with the freeaction of the feet and. legs in walking. The springs d d extend acrosseach other in' front of the skirt, and

their upper ends are provided with hooks e or with clasps or otherfastenings, whereby the same can be conveniently attached to one of thehoops a., which is provided for this purpose with a series of holes, j',(see Figs. 3

and 4,) so that by adjusting' the hooks or fastenings e the skirt can be/enlarged or diminished to suit the person Wearing the same.

When the skirt is worn, the dress bearing on the springs d d, whichcross each other in front of the opening in the skirt, throws the rearpart oi' the skirt back and the full effect of the hoop-skirt ispreserved, while with ordinary open-front hoop-skirts the weight of thedress, which rests on the rear part or" the skirt, is not counteractedin front and the principal e'ect of the hoop-skirt is lost. My

skirt has also the advantage that in sitting 4 down the knees of theperson wearing the skirt are entirely unobstructed, and the skirt anddress are not thrown forward. The lower hoops a being fastened upon thesprings d and the upper hoops upon the front-tapes 0*, said hoops can bearranged parallel with each other, while the free ends of the spring olby crossing the front opening connect the sides of the skirt togetherand forml the front portion of the hoop-skirt. By this means theordinary mode of lacing open-front skirts is dispensed with, and theends of the said crosssprings d being free and carrying fastening-hooks,which engage with eyes j in lone of the top hoops, a,

whereby the size ofthe skirt may beincreased l or diminished with easeand facility.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, `is

In an open-front skirt the arrangement of vsprings d d extending fromthe lower hoop of the skirt in diagonal directions across each other andacross the opening in frontof the skirt, and provided with hooks e forengaging the eyes fof the hoop a, substantially as herein shown anddescribed.

This specification signed by me this 2d day l of February, 1872.

' M. BERLINER.

' Witnesses: W. HAUFF,

E. F. KASTENHUBER.

FFIOE.

